Sunday, July 16, 2017

A Blockading Mother of Taylor is Blindsided

Detroit Free Press, January 4, 1956

If you frequently read old newspapers you quickly come to realize
that automobile crashes have probably injured and killed more people
than various wars. With Telegraph being one of the main roads in the
Detroit area during the 1950s it stands to reason that people were
regularly hit and run over along the route. Apparently a group of
downriver women known as the Blockading Mothers of Taylor Township
protested vehemently for a traffic light at the intersection of
Telegraph and Cypress, a particularly
dangerous spot, going so far as to form a human chain of 200 mothers
that blocked all lanes.

Residents had petitioned for nearly a decade but
the road commission rejected them repeatedly. The road commission
suggested the island median which is there to this day but nixed a plan
for a pedestrian walkway across the highway saying that it didn't meet
the requirement for foot traffic in the area. The fact that one of their
own was injured when she pulled out in front of a car and ended up at
WCGH only spurred on their effort and more protests were planned.

Anyway, I found the story interesting. If nothing else you get to see what a bed looked like at WCGH in 1956.